How old is your iPhone? 2degrees’ 3G network to shut down late 2025

Still on an old phone? Your number will soon be up. Photo / Getty Creative

If you’re still on the 3G-only iPhone 6 (release date: 2014), it’s time to start thinking about an upgrade.

2degrees says it will end its 3G mobile service “towards the end of 2025.”

Spark earlier gave the same timeframe for shutting down its 3G network (infamously launched as “XT” in its Telecom days, then relaunched after it fell over).

One NZ (formerly Vodafone NZ) plans to switch off 3G in August next year.

The trio are following a worldwide trend, which has seen telcos maintain older 2G networks - for basic “Internet of Things” gadget connectivity - while concentrating investment on newer 4G and 5G gear. That leaves 3G as what one analyst called “the red-headed stepchild”.

2degrees says all the phones currently on sale through its stores support 4G and 5G, the cheapest selling for $119.

Earlier this year, as it announced its 3G kill date, Spark said the most common 3G-only phones on its network were the:

• Apple iPhone 6
• Apple iPhone 5S
• Samsung Galaxy S7
• Huawei Y5
• Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro
• Samsung Galaxy J5 Prime
• Huawei nova 3
• Huawei nova 3e

One of NZ’s largest Internet-of-Things players, NZX-listed Eroad, bought rival Coretex in a $158m 2021 deal, in part to gain access to Coretex’s more advanced 4G kit.

Jarden analyst Guy Hooper earlier told the Herald he did not believe 3G switch-offs in various markets would have a material impact on Eroad, in part because all of its products had been sold since 2019 supported 4G or 5G.

Local Eroad partner One NZ plans to close its 2G network in late 2025 (following the shuttering of 3G in August 2024).

Chief executive Mark Heine painted the closure of older networks as an upsell opportunity (Eroad is currently the subject of a buyout offer).

Meanwhile, 2degrees, Spark and One NZ are all concentrating their efforts on expanding their 5G networks (each has pledged to spend $24m above than previously budgeted for provincial and rural areas as a quid pro quo after being given spectrum).

And each of the three mobile players is planning to fill network gaps through “celltower in the sky” satellite-to-mobile services - 2degrees and Spark in partnership with US startup Lynk, and One NZ with Elon Musk’s Starlink from late 2024.

Last week, the Commerce Commission claimed One NZ was getting a bit ahead of itself and put a stop order on its 100 per cent coverage campaign.

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.